FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC – HLLI filed its response brief in Greenberg v. Lehocky, Appellate Case No. 22-1733 (3rd. Cir.), Pennsylvania’s attempt to overrule HLLI’s victory enjoining the state’s unconstitutional regulation of attorney speech, Rule 8.4(g). HLLI challenged Rule 8.4(g) on behalf of attorney Zachary Greenberg, a Pennsylvania-licensed attorney working for a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of students’ constitutional rights and regularly speaks at legal education and other professional events on a variety of hot-button legal issues. After two HLLI victories in the district court, where the court found both the original and amended rule unconstitutional violations of Pennsylvania attorneys’ First Amendment rights, Pennsylvania appealed.
In its appeal, Pennsylvania argued that Greenberg lacked standing to challenge Rule 8.4(g), and that the rule was merely a regulation of conduct consistent with a long history of regulating attorney speech as conduct. HLLI’s response brief highlighted that Rule 8.4(g) is in fact anomalous to any attorney regulations modern or historical–as evidenced by the lack of adoption by most states and the immense body of commentary arguing against the rule–and a violation of the First Amendment under Third Circuit and Supreme Court precedent.
“The First Amendment does not permit state licensing authorities to dictate what viewpoints its members may express on a wide range of academic, social, legal, cultural and political issues,” said HLLI Senior Attorney Adam Schulman. “Pennsylvania may not condition Zach’s right to pursue his professional calling on him sacrificing participation in the free marketplace of ideas.”
HLLI anticipates the Third Circuit setting the case for oral argument sometime in early 2023.
Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a nonprofit public interest law firm formed in 2019. HLLI challenges administrative and regulatory actions and abuses of the class action and civil justice system that exceed constitutional limits, promote rent-seeking, or otherwise improperly created deadweight loss; and challenges improper restrictions on speech and other actions beyond constitutional bounds.
For more information about this case, please contact:
Ted Frank, 703-203-3848, ted.frank@hlli.org
Adam Schulman, 610-457-0856, adam.schulman@hlli.org
John Andren, 703-582-2499, john.andren@hlli.org